The Fulton County Board of Health is continuously working to expand and improve public health in our area and across the state. Which means the FCBOH welcomes the opportunity to work with students in their ongoing learning efforts. On July 10, 2025, officials with the Board of Health met with a few staff members from the Morehouse School of Medicine to discuss their continuing partnership with the school of medicine’s preventative medicine fellowship program.
“This program is unique because the fellows are licensed physicians. We want to do our part to make sure the next generation of physicians are prepared for the realities of public health. This program helps bridge the gap between education and practice by showing fellows real-life situations in the public health world giving them the chance to gain real-world experience before they officially step into their careers in medicine,” says Sasha Smith, Chief Epidemiologist at the Board of Health.
Since the pandemic, the Board of Health has been one of the locations for the Public Health and Preventative Medicine (PHPM) residency. Thursday’s meeting was to discuss the Board of Health remaining a site for the residency as well as the growth of the program for the future.
Dr. Sonja S. Hutchins, who attended the meeting, says she wants to “ensure continuity as the program moves to the next level. The residency has been continuously accredited since 1986 and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in March. As such, continuity is key to continue program success.”
Dr. Nicollette Lewis is currently a fellow at the Board of Health working with the epidemiology department. She started her rotation at the Board of Health in May and will finish up at the end of July. This meeting was also to discuss her progress and what’s to come for the rest of the month. But either way, Dr. Lewis says the experience has been a good one and she’s ready for what the rest of July has in store for her.
“I have really enjoyed my time here. I’ve been able to get an understanding of what happens at the epidemiology department. I’ve had the opportunity to do a health inspection with an inspector and that was fun for me. I’ve also been working with health promotions and emergency preparedness as well. Overall, it’s been a really good experience,” says Dr. Nicollette Lewis, a current fellow at the Board of Health working with the epidemiology department.
Programs like this also make it easier to fill open positions within the public health field, especially after the COVID pandemic left so many roles unfilled.
“One of our main goals is to partner with local colleges and universities in order to help create a pipeline to make it easier to fill a lot of the vacancies in the public health industry,” says Reginald Greene, Director of Workforce Development and Accreditation at the Board of Health.
For more information on Morehouse’s Public Health and Preventative Medicine residency, click here: Public Health Preventive Medicine | Morehouse School of Medicine